You Had To Know
by Ellie White
Summary: A conversation with Castle...or, make that a Rodgers. Implied Castle/Beckett! Written for the LJ abc las contest. Prompt: "A Known Mistake Is Better Than An Unknown Truth."  Insert routine "They're not mine!" disclaimer here.


You Had To Know

Character/Relationships: Kate Beckett, Martha Rodgers (implied Castle/Beckett)

Rating: PG (to be safe)

Warnings: Spoilers for 1x5-A Chill Runs Through Her Veins through 1x10-A Death In The Family

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Kate Beckett frantically paced back and forth in her apartment, still replaying the events of the evening over in her head.

_Castle stood in the doorway of her ex-boyfriend's hospital room and stared right at her. "Do you have a sec?"_

"_Yeah," she replied, smiling at Will._

"_Watch it, Kate. He likes you," he told her with a drugged smile as she lifted herself from her chair at the side of the bed._

_With a mental eye roll, she turned to Rick and felt obligated to make an excuse for his blunt outburst. "You'll have to forgive him, he's heavily medicated."_

_They made their way out into the hallway and toward a few chairs resting outside the room._

"_You look pretty serious…is everything okay?" she asked._

_He pointed to the closest chair. "Take a seat."_

"_What?" she laughed, confused by his behavior._

"_Sit down."_

"_Castle, what's going on?" she asked, tired of him playing games with her._

_He took a deep breath and gulped. "It's about your mother…"_

It was about her mother…

More specifically, her mother's death. The nightmare that haunted her in her dreams every night since it happened. The tragedy that scarred her heart and left her with dozens of memories that would never be highlighted by the presence of her best friend.

The one thing she prided herself on was that she had finally established a relationship, built solely on trust that seemed like it was going to last. However, with one breath and four little words, he'd demolished it as if it the case meant nothing to him but a puzzle to solve.

The shrill ringing of her cell phone ripped her back to present. She glanced at the screen and scowled as the name _Castle, Richard_ flashed on the screen. She took a deep breath before answering.

"How many times do I have to tell you that we're done, Castle?"

"Actually, darling, it's Rodgers. It used to be Richard's last name, but he insisted that being 'Richard Rodgers' would steal my spotlight."

Kate's eyes widened. "Martha?"

"The one and only! You were expecting someone else, I take it…"

"I'm sorry. I thought you were-"

"Richard, yes, I know. He's partly the reason I'm calling."

"Oh?" She suddenly realized that if his mother was calling her, there might be something wrong. "Uh, is he alright?"

Kate heard Martha's sigh through the phone. "I was calling to ask you that very question, Detective."

Kate didn't need to glance at her calendar to know that the last time she'd talked to Castle was a week ago. She couldn't count the times she glanced at the empty chair beside her desk and felt sadly disappointed to find it unoccupied. "I wouldn't know. I haven't seen or heard from Cas-"

"Precisely why I'm calling. Do you have any where my son has been for the past two weeks?"

"No, not real-"

"He's been in his office, writing!" she exclaimed, sounding appalled.

"Isn't that where he's supposed to be?" she asked, confused.

"Every once in a while, certainly, but not like this. He leaves that room for a few minutes only twice a day; once to eat and the other to…never mind. Reasoning aside, I've never seen him so…so…"

"Dedicated?" Kate offered.

"Empty," Martha said with a sigh. "Darling, I realize that having Richard around can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but what happened? Did he neglect some kind of police procedure?"

Kate opened her mouth to remind her of the time he was charged with obstruction of justice after he stole evidence from the first case they worked together, when Martha added, "again?"

Her eyes dropped to her accent rug that lined the hallway. "He betrayed me."

"Betrayal? That doesn't sound like the Richard Castle I know."

She snorted quietly. "Perhaps we know different people."

"Oh, I doubt that, darling. Do you mind telling me what happened?"

Yes. Yes, she did mind. Very much, in fact, but like Castle, Martha Rodgers had a way about her that made you feel almost comfortable with sharing your life story with a total stranger. As reluctant as she first felt, she found herself effortlessly sharing. "I asked him not to do one thing, one thing, and he couldn't help himself. I asked him not to and he did."

The older woman hummed. "Is this about your mother's case?"

Beckett felt her grip loosen on the phone; sure she was going to drop it. "He-he told you about that?"

"He may have confided in me," she replied cryptically.

"I should've known to keep my mouth shut."

"He was seeking counsel, torn between whether to tell you or not; to save you the pain."

"Why would he need advice? It's not his problem."

"Sweetheart, you may have gone through it the first time, but he revisits your nightmares with you each time you suffer from them. He hurts when you hurt. Sympathy has always been one of Richard's strong suits. It's what makes him such a wonderful writer."

"But a lousy partner."

"Nonsense! That's what makes him the perfect partner. Upfront, he wanted to be honest with you and searched for every alternative beforehand that would cause you the least amount of pain. What more could you ask for?"

Kate knew she was right and hated it. "Not having to admit that maybe I might have overreacted a bit."

"Pride is a hard thing to swallow."

She nodded, knowing it would be unseen. "You're very wise, Martha."

"Well I should hope so. Otherwise, I'd have to give up my day-job of being a life coach and fall back on the calling I was born for; acting."

"Either way, you'd be very successful."

"Thank you, darling. It's all in a day's work." Martha carefully thought over her next sentence. "He loves you, you know. He does…has ever since the day he met you. He misses you, too."

"What?"

"Don't act so surprised, Kiddo. With the way you put up with him, you had to know."

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